Lagos Paris London (Vinyl LP)

Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis had been a lifelong fan of Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, and when given the opportunity in 2016 to spend two days in a Parisian studio with the percussive legend he leapt at the chance. Sadly, Tony passed in 2020 aged 79, and the work the pair had begun was left incomplete... until now! Working with contemporaries of Allen, Yannis finished these five songs off and thus the debut EP from Yannis & The Yaw was born. Swinging from rock to funk, jazz to dub and laden with a wild energy, this is Yannis like you've never heard him. - Flying Out

In 2016, Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis was offered the opportunity of a lifetime: a two-day session working with the great drummer Tony Allen, who he admired intensely for his influential, multi-genre work with the likes of Fela Kuti, Sébastien Tellier and Jeff Mills.

Heading into a smoke-filled, ‘70s throwback studio in Paris, Yannis had expected them to make a nostalgic Afrobeat record. Yet something very different emerged. As the pair quickly established an intuitive telepathy, the music germinated from jams and loops, its varied touchpoints - rock, funk, jazz, dub and more - were complemented by a unique atmosphere of two cultures and creatives colliding, their expression liberated by making music in and for the moment itself.

Joined by Tony’s regular collaborators Vincent Taeger (percussion, marimba), Vincent Taurelle (keys) and Ludovic Bruni (bass, guitar) that first meeting resulted in a handful of near complete songs, which were further developed during a couple of subsequent sessions. But between scheduling issues and Covid restrictions, the recordings were never completed before Tony passed away in April 2020 at the age of 79.

Yannis felt a deep duty to complete the project, not only as a bittersweet way to honour and celebrate his friend, but also because Tony had been so eager to share these songs with the world. The result is the upcoming five-track EP, Lagos Paris London, under the Yannis & The Yaw umbrella - a project that he plans to return to in the future for further collaborations with inspiring musicians from across the globe.

Lagos Paris London is high-spirited, loose-grooved exuberance completed by the complex rhythms and unhurried style of the man who inspired it. It’s a communion with the past that provides an escape in the present day. 

Tracklist:

1. Walk Through Fire
2. Rain Can't Reach Us
3. Night Green, Heavy Love
4. Under The Strikes
5. Clementine